Penguin Random House SEA x The Projector

Screening will be accompanied by a panel discussion with Josephine Chia, Dawn Cher, Neil Humphreys, Theresa Devasahayam, and actress Yeo Yan Yan and moderated by Fauzi Aziz.

Playback: Our Singapore Stories

As Singapore celebrates 60 years of independence this year, Playback: Our Singapore Stories is an exclusive one-of-a-kind evening which invites people to reflect on the nation’s identity through the voices of its storytellers. In a unique collaboration between Penguin SEA and The Projector, this curated evening brings together the worlds of literature and cinema to examine how memory, culture, and personal histories shape the shared imagination of Singapore.

At the heart of the evening is a screening of Ilo Ilo (2013), the landmark debut film by Anthony Chen that stirred national conversation on family, belonging, and change. The screening will be followed by a thought-provoking panel featuring authors and artists whose work speaks to the spirit of Singapore—past, present, and future. In a year where the nation looks back and ahead, this programme invites audiences to reimagine Singapore through the intimate lens of story and screen: to remember, to question, and to dream anew.

*Note: There will be a Book Sale pop-up happening before the film screening and a Book Signing table after the screening and Q&A!

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Set in Singapore in 1997, Ilo Ilo chronicles the relationship between a family of three and their newly arrived Filipino maid, Teresa.